Spectroplast is looking to expand its material portfolio, apart from deepening its collaboration with industrial customers and building more efficient production workflows.

“Spectroplast has built an incredibly strong foundation. What excites me most is translating that technical excellence into solutions with real-world impact. We’ll push the limits of what’s possible with silicone 3D printing: expanding our material portfolio, deepening co-development with customers, and building efficient, reliable production processes that deliver value from concept to market,” Maximilian Eils said upon his appointment.

Spectroplast is promoting its silicone additive manufacturing platform as a link between cutting-edge material science and industrial-scale application, with support from investors HZG Group and AM Ventures.

“With Spectroplast’s silicone 3D printing solutions and Maximilian Eils’ operational leadership, the company is poised to become a key element in the additive manufacturing ecosystem and help scale solutions from lab to factory,” Frank C Herzog, Managing Partner at HZG Group, said.

Meet Maximilian Eils

Maximilian Eils began his career with a love for technology and innovation. He went on to become a key leader in advanced manufacturing, with more than 14 years of experience in the 3D printing industry at EOS, a leading global provider of additive manufacturing solutions.

While at EOS, he held a variety of senior leadership roles, gaining broad experience in sales strategy, operations, and business development in complex international markets, expanding his responsibilities to executive positions that focused on aligning corporate strategy with customer needs and technological evolution, knowledge that would serve him well in his current position at Spectroplast AG.

Maximilian Eils is recognised for his success at EOS, where he became known for combining technical innovation with commercial growth, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where he led sales excellence and scaled services for a rapidly changing technology, making him a forward-thinking executive in the additive manufacturing ecosystem.

As the CEO of Spectroplast AG, Maximilian Eils will be entrusted with the job of advancing the adoption of silicone additive manufacturing, expanding the material portfolio, reinforcing customer partnerships, and guiding the organisation from early-stage innovation to scalable industrial solutions.

Maximilian Eils takes the helm at Spectroplast at a pivotal time for the company and the broader additive manufacturing industry. Supported by investors such as HZG Group and AM Ventures, and to translate leading-edge silicone technologies into production parts, Maximilian Eils is well-positioned to help deliver on the promise of silicone 3D printing in diverse markets, including healthcare, automotive, and consumer products. Throughout his career to date, he has consistently been focused on bringing technology closer to industrial application, balancing innovation and commercial impact.

Image Credits: Spectroplast

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Freeform co-founders Erik Palitsch (CEO) and TJ Ronacher (president) both worked at SpaceX, where they were principal architects and lead analysts, respectively, of the Merlin engines and other programmes. During that particular stint, the duo saw the potential of 3D printing parts using metal, along with the method’s shortcomings.

In today’s episode of the “Start-up of the Week,” International Finance will inform its readers more about the start-up, whose tagline is “The Future Will Be Printed.”

Meet The Visionary

Palitsch told TechCrunch, “We saw the potential of metal printing; it has the potential to transform basically any industry that makes metal things. But adoption has been slow and success has been marginal at best. Why is it not practical to use at scale? Fundamentally, because of three things: crappy and inconsistent quality; speed — commercial printers are very slow; and cost — the price for these printers is astronomical.”

He and Ronacher concluded that if they could operationalise the process to provide a printing service rather than sell a printer, they could crack the whole thing wide open. So they joined up with Tasso Lappas, former CTO of Velo3D, to start Freeform.

In Palitsch’s opinion, the primary mistake companies were making in 3D printing parts was using the likes of CNC machines, which are commonly used in traditional manufacturing, as a model for the metal-printing business. They were selling the machine and its software, in their attempt to make the device work with whatever shapes and processes companies use. However, the method doesn’t bode well for 3D printing.

“The way these things work today is they’re ‘open loop’ — they’re basically playing back a file. They needed to be smarter than that, because the process by which you melt the metal powder with a laser is extremely complicated, and in a way infinitely variable,” Palitsch explained further, as he made this crucial observation, “Selling people a machine and saying become an expert to make it work, good luck, isn’t a recipe for success. But when you decide you’re not going to build and package a printer into a box, when you have the freedom to build an automated factory from a clean sheet, there’s a lot you can do.”

Palitsch and Ronacher want to make 3D printing as a service using a closed-loop process in a custom machine that monitors the print on a microsecond scale, adjusting various factors to achieve the kind of print that is expected at a sophisticated, tech-savvy workplace like SpaceX.

With the mission of making the transformative power of 3D printing available to all industries at scale and unlocking the future of innovation, Freeform has disrupted the commodities sector through its unique metal printing architecture, which is powered by autonomous factories, which allow for “effortless scaling from one part to millions.”

While advanced sensing and computing systems increase the 3D printing speed by 1000-fold, Freeform’s innovation also has another interesting aspect: the world’s first closed-loop control, which results in digitally verifiable defect-free parts.

How Freeform’s Technology Works

Automation, Data Driven Learning, Closed Loop Control, Robotics, Computer Vision and High-Performance Computing form the core of Freeform’s 3D printing ecosystem.

The closed-loop system with real-time monitoring mitigates the quality issues while still allowing speedy printing of complex geometries. And this solution keeps Freeform’s business model simple.

Palitsch said, “We have high-speed computer vision feedback on our system that runs at microsecond scale, and all that data is being processed on state-of-the-art FPGAs and GPUs. We had to build this whole stack ourselves out of stuff that’s only become available in the last few years.”

Freeform’s world-class team comprises industry leaders from the likes of SpaceX, Velo3D, Carbon, Tesla, and Apple, who have successfully overcome the challenges of disruption. Backed by leading Silicon Valley investors including Two Sigma Ventures, Founders Fund, and Threshold Ventures, the start-up has deployed a combination of advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, and several lasers.

These elements work together seamlessly to control the melting process—where a solid substance turns into a liquid— in real-time. They make instant adjustments to prevent defects, resulting in the rapid manufacture of flawless metal parts at a fraction of the cost.

Within a couple of years of its formation (2018), Freeform realised its initial concept into a production-scale printing factory, a development which is now paying rich dividends to players in key industries like advanced energy, automotive, aerospace, and industrial manufacturing.

In 2023, Freeform started scaling production with select customers with the start-up’s first high-volume system, albeit still a “prototype” production system. SpaceX owns close to 50 metal printing machines. However, Palitsch claimed in 2023 that Freeform’s single production prototype can exceed the printed volume of every machine that the Elon Musk-led venture owns.

“From a technology, de-risking perspective, we’re there. Our production prototype can print significantly faster, by a significant margin, than any other system on the planet today. And remember, this is just a prototype. Our next-gen platform will be an order of magnitude, or more, faster still,” the start-up boss commented.

As of October 2024, the “High-volume Metal Printing” solution from Freeform has its own autonomous factory in the United States, a first-of-a-kind in the world, empowering customers to innovate rapidly at scale. The factory prints thousands of parts per day without capital investment, while ensuring that the components are digitally-verified and defect-free. The facility also provides metal additives at conventional manufacturing costs.

“It really depends on the volume of that scale. We’ve delivered parts to customers in less than 24 hours in an industry where your lead time is usually eight weeks or more. That’s pretty darn good. We have the capability of our current system to go from idea to mass production in days or weeks for select materials and customers. Our goal is to be able to do this seamlessly for any customer across a variety of materials and industries, and we’re about one-two years away from that,” Palitsch said in 2023.

A Promising Road Ahead

As of October 2024, Freeform, as per Palitsch, “Is building the largest metal additive dataset in the world that’s why companies like Boeing are coming to us. We have this fundamental, core data collection and processing ability no one else has.”

Freeform is already helping customers to innovate and get products to market faster. In the words of Brandon Connors, Head of Programmes and Manufacturing at Embark Trucks (a leading developer of autonomous technology for the trucking industry), “As Embark brings autonomous trucking technology to market, we need the ability to seamlessly scale up from prototype to production. That means sourcing commercial-grade metal parts on short timelines, consistently and at a practical cost. Freeform’s printing service enables us to meet our manufacturing needs, improves supply chain reliability, and gives us the ability to change designs without impacting delivery time, so that we can accelerate the deployment of our technology.”

The start-up is also enabling customers to easily scale from initial prototype designs into high-volume production.

“Freeform offers us the ability to scale up from prototype to production,” said Nick Doucette, Chief Operations Officer at Ursa Major.

Ursa Major is an American aerospace company that is working with Freeform for the manufacturing of rocket engine parts.

“Freeform’s printing service gives us the ability to change designs rapidly without impacting production cost or delivery time. We are able to get consistent, high-quality metal parts in days instead of weeks,” Doucette stated.

“Freeform has revolutionised the additive approach. Others have tried addressing one component or problem at a time, like thermal stress, but no one else has rethought the entire architecture and approach. Freeform has created more flexibility for how parts are printed, and their cost-effective model has opened up a whole new class of 3D-printable parts,” said Scott Nolan, Investor from Founders Fund in 2023.

The practice of 3D printing is going to be the future of the manufacturing industry, in terms of addressing time and cost concerns. However, even the new method has its own limitations as incumbent technology is too slow, along with the high cost of owning and operating machines, even the best systems on the market today are unable to consistently produce high-quality parts quickly.

Freeform’s autonomous printing factories and manufacturing-as-a-service business model come with the potential to solve these challenges. Its proprietary technology stack brings the scalability of software to physical production by leveraging advanced sensing, real-time controls, and data-driven learning in a scalable factory architecture.

Due to the above factors, the company is producing digitally-verified, high-quality parts at unprecedented speed and cost. This breakthrough approach is enabling all industries to innovate faster by leveraging additive manufacturing to produce parts at a mass production scale. As more funding arrives, expect the start-up to disrupt the metal manufacturing industry with more innovations in the coming days.

The post Start-up of the Week: Meet Freeform, new player simplifying 3D printing methods appeared first on International Finance.

“Our investment in Bond´s 3D technology is a logical way to accelerate 3D printed PAEK/PEEK parts to market”, Jakob Sigurdsson, Victrex CEO explained. “We need to ensure that all the key elements, including material, process, and hardware are aligned to fulfill our goal of enabling our customers to manufacture 3D printed PAEK components for critical high-performance applications. We’re now at a stage where the technology is sufficiently developed to embark on exciting development programs.”

Bond´s technology is capable of printing complex, functional parts made of PEEK with excellent mechanical properties, including in the z-direction. This enables the additive manufacture of high strength, isotropic parts with properties comparable to conventional moulded or machined PEEK parts. Overcoming this challenge is recognised as one of the key elements to further maturing the use of the high-performing thermoplastics in AM. Victrex and Bond will initially focus their new collaboration on demonstrating the potential in the spine and the semiconductor segments. These will use commercially available products such as PEEK-OPTIMA™ from Invibio Biomaterial Solutions, Victrex’s medical business, or VICTREX™ PAEK thermoplastic. In the future, this ability to print functional parts from existing PEEK grades may also have value in aerospace, energy, automotive, manufacturing and engineering applications, where existing industry standards have been built around years of experience with Victrex’s commercial PEEK polymers.

Bridge the gap between prototyping and serious production environment

“We found that the market needs strong functional parts made from high-performance polymers that can be used not only for prototyping but for production. With our dedicated focus on 3D printing technology for high-performance polymers, we were able to develop a technology to achieve the full strength of existing PAEK and PEEK polymers. This includes the strength in the Z-direction, which is the most difficult to achieve with high-performance polymers in general and PEEK in particular,” commented Gerald Holtvlüwer, CEO, Bond High Performance 3D Technology. He continued, “We’re excited to partner with a world leader in PAEK polymer-based solutions. Victrex´s material know-how and their strong marketing and sales activities, are a perfect channel to market for us and a complement to our pioneering technology.”

Currently, Bond´s 3D hardware and software are in the beta-phase. A clear development plan is in place for upscaling and installing additional 3D printing machines later this year. This is expected to mark the next phase and drive the transition from development to first part qualification and early stage production. Bond was founded in 2014, delivered a ‘proof of concept’ 3D printer in 2016 and following investment in the same year then realized functional models and prototypes.

Establishing supply chain for additive manufactured PAEK parts

Sigurdsson summarised, “Collaboration and partnerships are the key to establishing the necessary supply chain for additive manufactured PAEK parts. After focussing, as part of Innovate UK projects, on new optimized PAEK/PEEK materials, partnering with Bond is the next important stage. Their advanced technical capabilities and ambitious, innovative culture will help to meet the needs of industries that can benefit from the exceptional material properties PAEK brings, in combination with the manufacturing benefits and freedom that their AM technology offers.”

The post Victrex and Bond pioneer 3D printing for PAEK parts appeared first on International Finance.

August  5,2016:  With no shortage of technological breakthroughs affecting businesses today and many more on the horizon, how can C-suites develop effective emerging technology strategies?

For its new report, Tech breakthroughs megatrend, PwC evaluated more than 150 technologies globally and developed a methodology for identifying those which are most pertinent to individual companies and whole industries. The result is a guide to the “Essential Eight” technologies PwC believes will be the most influential on businesses worldwide in the very near future:

The specific technologies that will have the biggest impact on each industry will vary, but PwC believes the list of eight comprises technologies with the most cross-industry and global impact over the coming years.

“Most companies have laid a foundation for emerging technology, investing in areas such as social, mobile, analytics and cloud,” said Vicki Huff Eckert, PwC’s Global New Business Leader. “Now it’s time for executives to take a broader view of more advanced technologies that will have a greater impact on the business.”

To arrive at the Essential Eight, PwC filtered technologies based on business impact and commercial viability over the next five to seven years (as little as three to five years in developed economies). The specific criteria included a technology’s relevance to companies and industries; global reach; technical viability, including the potential to become mainstream; market size and growth potential; and the pace of public and private investment.

What makes technological breakthroughs a megatrend? 

Companies continually wait for the “next big thing,” believing that a particular technology trend either won’t amount to much, or that it won’t affect their industries for years to come. But disruption is happening today at a faster rate and higher volume than ever before. Innovations throughout history have tipped the balance in favor of the innovators. In that sense, technological breakthroughs are the original megatrend. The ubiquity of technology, with increased accessibility, reach, depth, and impact are what will expedite adoption of the Essential Eight.

Key questions and actions for the C-suite

PwC believes the Essential Eight technologies will shake up companies’ business models in both beneficial and quite challenging ways. Across industries and regions, the emerging technology megatrend will influence strategy, customer engagement, operations and compliance. As a result, leadership teams should find effective answers to three fundamental questions:

• Do we have a sustainable innovation strategy and process?
• Have we quantified the impact of new technologies? If not, how can we do that-and how soon?
• Do we have an emerging-technologies road map? If so, are we keeping it up to date?

According to PwC’s report, executives should not treat the Essential Eight technologies as a sort of checklist to delegate to the CIO or CTO. Rather, exploring and quantifying emerging technologies-and planning for them-should be a core part of a company’s corporate strategy.

The post The eight essential technologies appeared first on International Finance.